No. 7 Ole Miss is on a roll and has raced out to an undefeated start to the season. On Saturday, the Rebels will look to continue gathering momentum in the SEC West as they head to Death Valley to face rival LSU. The latest "Magnolia Bowl" meeting between the Rebels and Tigers serves as a pivotal test for both teams as the Rebels sit squarely in the national title race and the Tigers still have hope in the SEC West race.
Ole Miss is coming off of a wild 48-34 win over Auburn last weekend in which it had three rushers top the 100-yard mark and amassed a whopping 448 yards on the ground. The defense, however, didn't show up in a similar fashion. It gave up 6.78 yards per play and 301 rushing yards to an Auburn team that has struggled to find consistent success on offense all year.
LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels totaled six touchdowns (three passing, three rushing) last week in the 45-35 win over Florida. His 349-yard performance through the air marks the second time in as many weeks that the Arizona State transfer has thrown for 300 or more yards in a game, and his success through the air has provided much-needed balance to the offense.
Let's breakdown the matchup and make picks straight up and against the spread.
Check out LIVE updates from Ole Miss vs. LSU
How to watch Ole Miss vs. LSU live
Date: Saturday, Oct. 22 | Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Tiger Stadium -- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
TV: CBS | Live stream: CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App (Free)
Ole Miss vs. LSU: Need to know
Will the real Ole Miss defense please stand up? The Auburn game was a head-scratcher for those of us who started to believe in the Rebels defense. It was the first time this year that it gave up more than 6 yards per play (6.78). In theory, that's all that Ole Miss needs to do in order to stay in the College Football Playoff race. After all, if the Rebels can limit big plays, the offense is more than capable of picking up the slack and forcing games into shootouts. What is encouraging, though, is that they had seven tackles for loss and remain the top unit in the SEC in that category (6.71 per game). Last weekend was tough, but it isn't enough to jump to the conclusion that this Ole Miss defense has reverted back to its sad, depressing form of previous years.
What is the future of the LSU offense? Daniels was money last week vs. Florida, which is another instance of the Tigers potentially evolving into a force. Daniels found star wide receiver Kayshon Boutte six times for 115 yards -- the first 100-yard performance of the season for the star wide receiver.
"I think that was the first time this year that our best players stepped up to that level and made plays," coach Brian Kelly said on Monday.
Note the use of the word "best." That isn't an exaggeration, and is a great foundation for LSU to build upon. It appears that Kelly is excited about what it could mean moving forward.
"I think it's got to be part of what we continue to grow towards," he said. "You know, there will be times where guys just got to step up and make plays. We had been kind of grinding it out. Like, you know, every ... we were trying to fight for every blade of grass, and sometimes you just got to make some plays."
The friendly confines of Death Valley provide another chance for LSU to grow and further establish the identity of the program under Kelly.
SEC West on the line? It seems like the entire college football world wrote off LSU after the loss to Florida State in the opener. Even more folks probably jumped off after they got smoked by Tennessee. Alabama's loss to Tennessee last week has opened the door for other contenders to make a statement, and that is exactly what LSU will be looking to do on Saturday. A win over Ole Miss would be huge for the Tigers, who still control their destiny in the division title race. If Ole Miss takes the road win, it could vault the Rebels into the top five and further cement the this team as a true threat to take Alabama's division title crown.
Ole Miss vs. LSU prediction, picks
The wrong team is favored here. I know that LSU looked great against Florida and the Ole Miss struggled against Auburn, but those are both one-offs that don't necessarily line up with the trends that have developed during the season. It's almost impossible to slow down Quinshon Judkins, Zach Evans and quarterback Jaxson Dart on the ground, and the last thing that LSU needs is to get into a shootout with a team that's much more equipped to operate that way. I'll take Ole Miss to win straight up and continue its march toward what could be a magical November in Oxford, Mississippi. Prediction: Ole Miss (+1.5)
Which college football picks can you make with confidence in Week 8, and which top-20 favorite will go down hard? Visit SportsLine to see which teams will win and cover the spread -- all from a proven computer model that has returned almost $3,000 in profit over the past six-plus seasons -- and find out.
